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Friday, March 31, 2006

Hindsight Report: Last day of 1st Q 2006

Congrats to Google (GOOG) which will now trade on the S&P500. Google is now down 6% ytd. With Google making up a 38% weighting of my portfolio it is a small miracle that I'm up 1.36% on the year (still down 0.77% after commissions). My benchmark index, the Russell 2000 is up 13.65% on the year, so I have my work cut out for me.

Below are some strong performers today from my watch list:

TKOTelkonet Inc 8.97% --Among other things, this company can set up internet service through the electrical system of a building...HANS Hansen Natural 5.79% --Oh Hans! One position I sold in Hans last year (after a sizeable gain) would be up over 300% if I would have just held it! There were rumors that Hans and Anheiser Busch signed a distribution agreement today.JSDA Jones Soda 5.10% --Up in sympathy with Hans? Jones Soda is a Seattle based company with very creative and effective marketing. Except for the Motley Fool, this company is very much under the radar...NTRI NutriSystem Inc 4.95% --Until America gets skinny (i know, i know), Nutrisystem should keep going up.BOT CBOT Holdings Inc 4.91% --Largest option exchange enjoying record volumesNTMD NitroMed Inc 4.34% --This biotech was up today because it layed off more than 1/3 of its workers...DOC Digital Angel 3.12% --this is a RFID tag company which is set to install the largest RFID tower in the world in the Columbia River Gorge to count salmon...The company is majority owned by Applied Digital (ADSX)PEET Peet's Coffee & Tea 3.06% --Starbucks' inspiration, Peets is just starting an aggressive expansionEXPE Expedia Inc 2.37% --I watch this stock because I am intrigued by spin-offs but not sure it is one I would ever own...MOH Molina Healthcare 2.04% --my insurance company!

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Hindsight Report March 29, 2006

Today was a bullish day with a strong recovery from yesterday's uneasiness about the Fed raising rates once again. Many stocks in my watch list enjoyed a strong upside alpha today as you will see by my long list below:

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Hiatus over: Hindsight Report for March 23

Blogger was down last week and I just decided to take a few days off. Will be back regularly now.

Stocks showing up on my watch list today:

**NOTE: I've started linking my stock symbols through Google Finance instead of Yahoo. I like the new service quite alot including the charts and links to blogs such as mine!

LBTYA Liberty Global Inc Cl A 7.33% --Stock was up today on news that it is selling its French cable company in order to concentrate on higher growth regions of Eastern Europe. NOTE: Also look at CETV (Central European Media).SVI Services Acquisition Corp Intl 6.61% --This acquirer of Jamba Juice bounced on a recommendation by Cramer. Probably a stock that will be on a roller coaster for awhile while the details of its acquisition come out. See PREVIOUS POSTSCSS Select Comfort 6.49% --Huge growth. The stores always seem to be empty but they are aggressively expanding and building market share.HOMS Homestore Inc 5.99% --Internet provider of data for real-estate professionalsDIETEdiets.com Inc 4.95% --Everyone is on a diet.CBEY Cbeyond Communications Inc 4.70% --This relatively recent IPO is in the VOIP sector. Close to all time high.YHOO Yahoo Inc 3.90% --Yahoo catching part of the tech bug today. Also watch GOOG with its after hours news that it was added to the S&P 500 today.DOC Digital Angel 2.70% --RFID company showing some signs of life of lateSTP Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd 2.18% --Chinese solar power company. This stock performs well when oil prices go up.TRAK DealerTrack Holdings Inc 2.03% --Software company whose product facilitates auto dealers financing offices...Recent IPO

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Link? First all link post for the Trading Alamanac

I won't be doing this everyday but here are some interesting links:

Bond Guru Bill Gross describes a typical work day. An hour and a half of yoga right in the middle of the trading day and he can still personally manage $200 billion dollars. Lots of respect to you Bill.

Here are screen shots of the Google calendar that is currently in beta testing. I can't wait until this is available as it will tie in with my gmail account (need an invite to gmail? let me know: tradingalmanac AT gmail DOT com). The link also gives a decent description of the functions that will be offered. Did I tell you I can't wait?

Real Estate Porn: Zillow.com This very addictive website provides home valuation without the fees and registration required by other websites. Also, you can see satellite maps of whole neighborhoods with each house's value and also the site provides great comparable sales. There are many who have knocked Zillow for being quite inaccurate but I challenge you to check it out for less than an hour...

Triple Hindsight Report: Friday, Monday, and Tuesday

It has been a flurry of activity here in Tacoma WA, I compare my crazy life right now to our Spring weather: in a 24 period late last week we had snow, freezing rain, hail, thunder and lightning, sunshine, rain, and temperatures from 30 to 50 degrees.

I guess the condition of the market would compare with the weather as well. Crazy and unexplainable ups and downs with a tendancy towards improvement. Today the Dow and the S&P 500 hit 4 1/2 year highs with the Nasdaq and Russell 2000 only a couple percentage points behind them.

Today, many many stocks enjoyed a fairly broad market rally. Stocks with any kind of upside beta (definition of beta) seemed to do especially well. I'll list today's Hindsight stocks first, then Monday's, and finally Friday's. Be sure to check out some new names that will be highlighted for the first time.

Hindsight Report for Tuesday the 14th of March, 2006

SVI Services Acquisition Corp Intl 20.81% --This company is a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) that just recently purchased Jamba Juice for $265 million. The stock is on fire right now. I'll buy some tomorrow if it continues to go up but probably just for a day trade. Once it settles down, I'll consider it longer-term as Jamba Juice could be a good growth story.CMG Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc 12.19%--Chipotle beat all estimates in a blowout quarterGS Goldman Sachs Group 6.31%--Goldman is growing. Fast. They also had a great quarterECA EnCana Corporation 5.57%--This Canadian natural gas company also has the rights to broad expanses on the Rockies, mainly Wyoming.SIRF SiRF Technology Holdings Inc 5.38%--One of my favorite stocks for trading, this manufacturer of GPS semiconductors is performing very well of lateCBEY Cbeyond Communications Inc 4.80%--VOIP stock, not a long term investment but good for tradingDIETEdiets.com Inc 4.46%--Know anyone that is dieting or needs to diet?MOH Molina Healthcare 4.38%--My insurance company!NYX NYSE Group Inc 4.24%--Strong since its IPO, now rumors that it might bid for the London Stock Exchange...TRAD TradeStation Group 4.12%--Received the highest rating in Barron's for online brokerage. Also has very active trading clients with larger than average accounts.STP Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd 3.94%--Alt energy company, strong sector right nowEBAY Ebay Inc 3.88%--The internet stocks had a good day, but are still down pretty big for the year. Including my biggest holding, Google.YHOO Yahoo Inc 3.65%--see EBAY.HAIN Hain Celestial Group 3.49%--Organic and 'natural' food is in, Hain should be a good stock to ownSBUX Starbucks Corp 3.48%--Why am I not in Starbucks? Is it not performing well? No... Is it not a growth story? No.... First pullback, and I'm in.DDDC Deltathree Inc 3.47%--another VOIP stock CD Cendant Corp 3.39%--poorly managed conglomerate, discussing a series of spin-offsISE International Securities Exchange 3.25%--Number 11 on the IBD 100AMX America Movil 3.12%--Number 1 cellular company in Mexico, expanding rapidly throughout Latin AmericaCHRW C.H. Robinson Worldwide 2.94%--Logistics and shipping company doing well and highly recommended by Jon Markman.ARRS Arris Group 2.81%--Equipment provider to the broadband, cable, and VOIP industriesCHS Chico's Fas 2.76%--Higher end retailer recovering after very disappointing earnings, the stock has a 10 year average of around 60% annual returnsGME Gamestop Corp 2.71%--Cramer sold his Gamestop on today's strength siting a potential slow down in video game sales while Sony and Nintendo work to get there new game systems to market.BOT CBOT Holdings Inc 2.59%--Part of a sector rally in the brokeragesDOC Digital Angel 2.53%--a RFID company...BSC Bear Stearns Cos 2.50%--sharing Goldman Sach's strength, Bear reports earnings on the 16th and I expect them to be impressiveIACI IAC/InterActiveCorp New 2.43%--Tough stock to own but enjoying a good rally this year in the weak internet sector. Spun-off Expedia last year. Watch for more wheeling and dealing from CEO Diller in the year ahead.AMLN Amylin Pharmaceuticals 2.42%--This company has a nice drug portfolio including a key diabetes treatmentCWTR Coldwater Creek 2.42%--I just sold this great company last week at its all time high and it is still going upBBD Banco Bradesco SA 2.36%--This Brazilian bank has a high beta, up todayPEET Peet's Coffee & Tea 2.33%--The company responsible for the existence of Starbucks is now more like its ugly step-sibling. I'm watching it though because of recent strength in all restaurant/coffee stocksEWW iShares MSCI Mexico (ETF) 2.31%--This ETF mimicks the broad Mexican stock market. Rates are at all time lows in Mexico sparking lots of investment. Also, the largest reserve of petroleum in Mexico's history was recently discovered...QCOM Qualcomm Inc 2.26%--Up with other tech stocks todayRNWK RealNetworks Inc 2.26%--Rhapsody or iTunes?GILD Gilead Sciences 2.24%--Great portfolio of HIV drugs and a bird flu playMOT Motorola, Inc 2.15%--Razr phones are recalled by Cingular and T-Mobile and the stock is up....???GIL Gildan Activewear Inc 2.15%--Hot stock in the sportswear sector.UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc 2.08%--Powerful insurance/HMO companyAMGN Amgen Inc 2.05%--Biotech is strong of late and Amgen is one of the powerhorses.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Hindsight Report for Thursday the 9th of March

Sorry I missed yesterday---it's crazy around here. Anyway, today was a lousy day for most stocks but there were exceptions!! One great stock today was Coldwater Creek (CWTR) which I luckily have owned since late January. I sold it today as it was up over 16% after posting some great earnings for the 4th quarter.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Hindsight Report for March (Madness) the 6th, 2006

Stocks performing well on my watch list today include:CBEY Cbeyond Communications Inc 1.68% --This VOIP company has had some recent strength CBOU Caribou Coffee Company Inc 2.23% --Caribou is a midwest version of Starbucks and Peets, its followers swear by its great coffee flavor. The stock has been volatile since its IPO in 2005DIET Ediets.com Inc 5.03% --Not sure about the business model for this company but the stock can move up quicklyHANS Hansen Natural 4.55% --A favorite whipping boy for financial journalists when they write about overvalued stocks, Hansens has gone up a few THOUSAND percent in the last few years and is threatening to hit an all time high tomorrowISE Intl Securities Exchange Inc 1.87% --another high flyer from the exchange/broker industry subsetPENN Penn National Gaming 5.07% --look at my previous description for Penn Gaming. Read Feb 15 post HERE

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Hindsight Report: Thursday the 2nd of March, 2006

All indices were down today but many stocks were up! The market is being very selective right now making good stock selection vital! This is not a throw a dart at the Wall Street Journal and buy the stock it lands on kind of market, no sir!

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Hindsight Report: March 1, 2006

There was an abundance of stocks enjoying a rally today, some that looked good on my watch list include:

ADSK Autodesk, Inc 10.70% --Great earnings released todayAMX America Movil 2.88% --The Mexican and Brazilian markets are still on fire, AMX is growing as well ARRS Arris Group 6.54% --Equipment manufacturer for the broadband industry, a historically risky and volatile sector.BBD Banco Bradesco SA 3.86% --Brazilian bank breaking out to new highsCETV Central Euro Media 3.18% --This stock has a large underlying bid right now EWW iShares MSCI Mexico Index (ETF) 2.35% --ETF mimicking the Mexican stock marketGIL Gildan Activewear Inc 4.97% --Up and coming casual/sportswear company GME Gamestop Corp 2.37% --Not sure this is the best stock right now with Sony delaying release dates of next gaming boxHANS Hansen Natural 2.26% --Hans is getting close to its all time high again. Some resistance at $100/shareHXM Desarrolladora Homex SA de CV 2.33% --Mexican homebuilder. *Anecdote* 2 of my brothers-in-law are buying homes in Mexico this month. Real estate is on fire in Mexico. Capital is more available than ever.IPS IPSCO Inc 4.48% --There are a few steel stocks going up daily of late. LRW Labor Ready 2.60% --Just announced a new CEO. Market seems to like the choice.MOH Molina Healthcare 3.45% --My insurance company, not sure if I'd want to own the stock thoughMOT Motorola, Inc 3.22% --Moving up nicely from a lower trend line. Riding the recent tech rally?PAC Grupo Aeroportuario Pacifico 3.82% --Recent IPO manages a number of Mexican airportsPEIX Pacific Ethanol Inc 4.52% --Up again, seems to be on hindsight report everydaySIRF SiRF Technology Holdings Inc 9.30% --An all time high for SiRF! This GPS chip maker is experiencing lots of growth of lateTEVA Teva Pharm Indus ADR 3.43% --Analysts like this generic drug maker out of Israel.